Charade
by Princess of Kickassery
Summary: After seeing the repercussions of killing Antonio, Gabriel Reyes knew one thing: you have to destroy the roots to kill the weed. In an attempt to take down Talon once in for all, Reyes turned against Overwatch to gain access to Talon's ranks, where he plans to weaken and destroy them from the inside. But there are so many things standing the way, Reyes wonders if he can succeed.
1. Masks

The interrogation- or meeting, as Morrison preferred to call it- lasted for hours. They scolded him, badgered him with questions, and threatened him with all sorts of legal punishments. Reyes knew most of it was bullshit. What would really happen to him was simple: he would go on leave for a few weeks or months while Overwatch's PR team cleaned up his mess, then he would go back to work and everything would go back to normal. But deep down, Reyes knew that was bullshit too. In all honesty, he didn't know what they were going to do to him. As he was walking back to his quarters, Reyes thought about something Morrison had asked.

"Reyes, do you regret what you did at all?" Morrison had asked him, staring him down from the other side of the table. Reyes didn't look up, he just stared at his hands. He taught about all of things Antonio had done for Talon, including blowing up the Blackwatch tower in Rome, and all of the things he wouldn't do now. Then Reyes looked up at Morrison, his jet black eyes holding no regret as he responded simply, "No."

Once Reyes reached his quarters, he sat down on his bed and pulled out a holo-screen before he scrolled through the newsfeed. The entire world knew about Blackwatch now, but thankfully didn't know every single detail… yet. It would only be a matter of time before all the gruesome little details of their mission came to light. Once they did, Blackwatch- and possibly Overwatch as well- would be shut down for good. And Talon would win.

"... God damnit!" Reyes cursed as he threw the holo-screen at the wall in a fit of rage. He felt stuck, trapped in this web of politics and policies. If he hadn't killed Antonio, Talon would still target Overwatch. But since he did kill Antonio, Blackwatch was exposed and Overwatch had taken damage to its image. It seemed like Reyes just couldn't win… at least not like this. There was no way to take down Talon from the outside. But maybe, just maybe, he could find a way to take it down from the inside.

* * *

Two Years Later

Today was the day. After today, there was no going back. Reyes gulped down his shot of liquor, then left his quarters and headed to the armory. He nodded to the guard stationed outside and went to the door, but had to stop when the guard stepped in front of him.

"'Cuse me, I need to get in there. Morrison asked me to grab some supplies." Reyes lied subtly, his mouth twisted into a smirk.

"Sorry Commander Reyes, but I can't let you do that. I am on explicit orders not to let any Blackwatch agents inside." The guard responded. He sounded just like a soldier, probably one of Morrison's lackeys.

"Look kid, it's probably best if you just move, okay? Trust me."

"That won't be happening sir."

"Alright, alright. I can take a hint." Reyes said as he started to turn around, until he suddenly whirled around and gave the guard a right hook powerful enough to knock him clear off of his feet and out cold. Reyes rubbed his now sore knuckles and stepped over the guard's limp body and into the armory. He only had a few minutes before more guards made their way down here to stop Reyes, but that was all the time he needed. Reyes quickly found what he was looking for, several packs of explosives, and set them all to go off in 5 seconds at the press of the trigger button. He hesitated for a split second before pressing the button.

A massive explosion ripped through the base and destroyed most of it. An untold many were dead, and Reyes was responsible. He watched the carnage around him, safe while in his wrath form, and after a second moved to his next location. Once he was clear of the explosion, Reyes solidified again and made his way to Moira, who was waiting in an unmarked black car. Neither said a word as Reyes got in and Moira drove off immediately after. A short while later, the two arrived at a isolated cabin in the woods. They got out and grabbed some bags from the trunk before they went inside. It was there they would experiment on their bodies, to add enhancements and test their limits. Once they were done, they would part, and Phase Two would begin.

* * *

It didn't take long for Reyes to get an assignment; once you listed certain skills on the dark web, it was only a matter of time before someone contacted you. The job consisted of killing some government official that had started to look into the possible corruption of one political figure. After he donned his now signature mask and cloak, Reyes headed off to the location of the target's house. From there, it was too easy to get in and assassinate the man, as well as get rid of his research for good measure. Once he sent word to his employers, they wired him the money and that was that. One down, who knows how many left to go.

In the months to follow, Reyes lost count of the souls he harvested. And after awhile, he began to think of himself as a reaper, _the_ Reaper. Whenever he felt like this, Reyes tried to remind himself of his goal: infiltrate Talon and bring it down once and for all. And that's when it happened, when he finally got the call. Reyes looking for another job when he heard a knock on the door. His instincts immediately kicked in and he quickly but silently made his way to the window of the abandoned hut he had been squatting in. From this point, he could see the people at the door through the branches of a bush, but he would be camouflaged.

There was an omnic at the door, and a blacked out limo several feet away. The omnic was dressed nicely in a slim suit, but Reyes could tell he was just a primped up pawn. He noticed a pin on his jacket, and his blood ran cold as he recognized the T over a shield, the symbol of Talon. Reyes calmed himself first, then went to the door and cautiously opened it. The man practically beamed at Reyes- which was almost impressive that he could convey it, since he had no moving features- as he announced in an overly cheerful tone, "Greetings, good sir. My name is Cagionle, and I am a representative of Talon. My superiors are interested in hiring you for a job. It will include a heavy payment, along with the opportunity to join Talon itself. What is your response?"

Instead of actually responding, Reyes nodded and went around Cagionle before he stopped beside the limo. Cagionle quickly got the hint and opened the door for Reyes, who stepped inside and took a seat against the wall. On the wall across from him was a mini bar and above that, a flat screen tv. The tv turned itself on suddenly to display an shadowy figure in a darkly lit office. Reyes couldn't see his face or place his voice unfortunately, as he was using an audio voice disguise program.

"Good day, Reaper. Or would you prefer I call you Commander Reyes?" Just from his tone, Reyes could tell the man had a smirk on his shadowy face. Reyes flinched slightly, but remained calm inside. Everything was going according to plan so far.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with us. In fact, as you may already know, we would like for you to join our ranks as a member. We know it was you who blew up Overwatch's Swiss headquarters. Very impressive, just like your rap sheet. Though I have to ask, why? You went from one of Overwatch's founders and the commander of the infamous Blackwatch to a gun for hire. What happened to you?"

Reyes was silent for a moment before he removed his mask and revealed his scarred and marred face as he responded, "I tried everything within the books to stop Talon. When that didn't work, I tried something off the books. It worked, but at a heavy cost. I was punished and humiliated for trying to do the right thing… I'm done doing the right thing. The world is a place of ruin and decay and rot, there's no way to help it or its people. So why not play the game while I can, make the most of this hell we call life? I want to sit back and watch the world- especially everyone who wronged me- burn in hell."

The man on the screen was silent for a moment, and Reyes worried for a split second that the man wouldn't believe him, until the man chuckled and said darkly, "You're hired. Welcome to Talon, Reaper."


	2. Spiders

Years Later

 _Gabe sauntered into headquarters, proud of himself after a successful mission. He heard someone call his name and turned to see a younger man- maybe in his mid-20s- approach. The man was dressed in a suit, with an easy smile on his face, but a smirk in his eyes. Gabe recalled his name: Lacroix, the man who had given him the information that had lead to the mission's success. He nodded to the Frenchman as he greeted Gabe, "Bonjour, Commandant Reyes. I trust the mission was a success?"_

" _Damn right it was. All thanks to you. Where'd you get that information anyway?" Gabe inquired, to which Lacroix chuckled and simply responded, "I have my resources."_

" _Well we need those resources, and you, on Overwatch. How about it, Lacroix?"_

" _Please, call me Gérard, Commandant."_

" _Only if you call me Gabe."_

" _Of course, Gabe."_

" _So? Will you join?" Gabe asked again, but as Gérard opened his mouth to speak, Gabe blinked and he was gone, replaced with an opened casket at Gabe's feet with Gérard inside, his skin pale from death and a bloody scar across his neck. To Gabe's further horror, Gérard's eyes opened, glassy and dark as Gérard hissed two simple words:_

" _ **Your fault**_ _."_

* * *

Reyes jolted awake and hyperventilated for a second before he got his breathing under control. He covered his face with his hands and sighed shakily as he held in a sob. The soldier remained like this until he was able to compose himself, then got out of bed and went about his morning routine- or rather, evening routine. Talon missions usually happened at night, so Reyes had to get used to a different sleeping schedule. He took a shower hot enough to hurt without causing damage, ate whatever meal was left outside his room in the tray, brushed his teeth, then put on his "uniform" before he left the room he resided in. Reyes didn't think of it as _his_ room, since they moved around so much he never stayed in a room longer than a few days. Their current setup was an office building somewhere in one of the cities neighboring Paris.

Once he left his room, Reyes made his way to the briefing room, a boardroom a couple of floors up. He got there and opened the door, expecting there just to be the usual armed soldiers and omnics and the screen that showed the Boss- that was the name the man on the screen had actually asked Reyes to call him- and a table with some sparse decor. Instead, today he found a woman standing in the center of the room. This was the least shocking detail, of course. The woman had light purple skin- something close to lavender or a grayish purple- and wore reflective magenta spandex suit that was quite revealing. She had a sniper rifle beside her and on her head wore a strange headpiece with multiple scopes over her black hair. All of this paled in comparison to the realization Reyes had when he saw the woman.

 _She's Amélie Lacroix. Gérard's wife. Gérard's killer._ A million thoughts swirled in Reyes's mind, but he somehow managed to keep his composure and moved to stand beside her and face the TV positioned on the wall. Once he did so, Boss started to speak, "Good evening Reaper. You may have noticed a certain someone has joined our team. This is agent Widowmaker, who recently finished her training as a sniper and has joined us for the following mission: assassinate Solenne Moineau, Chief of the Paris Police Department. She has been making headway on an investigation into our operations here, so we need to silence her and send a message to anyone who tries to cross us. Reaper, you will infiltrate her home and execute the mission. Widowmaker will operate as your backup in case anything goes awry. After all, we don't want another Gibraltar incident do we?"

Reaper frowned at the mention of his recent failure against the ape scientist Winston. The monkey had proved tougher than Reaper had remembered; though it was his fault for underestimating him, of course. Stil, Boss's reprimand over his failure stung and reminded him of- Reaper redirected his focus to Boss and listened as he continued on.

"Now, I've sent a car to the base that should take you to Moineau's home. Her children and husband will be home, so kill them if they see you. Good luck agents, and remember: failure is not an option." With that, the screen went dark, and Reyes was suddenly alone with _her._ Amélie- _Widowmaker_ headed to the door and, after a brief second of hesitation, Reyes followed. They stepped into the elevator, and as they began their descent, Reyes asked so quietly, it was barely a whisper, "You're her, aren't you? _Amélie._ "

Widowmaker didn't respond, but Reyes could tell she heard him from the slight stiffening of her muscles visible through her skin tight suit. So he continued, "What happened to you? I remember meeting you with Gérard. You were like a bright flame, so vibrant and alive, but dangerous as well. And now? Now you're barely an ember. A shell of the woman you were. You're-"

Reyes was cut off when he found himself slammed into the wall of the elevator by Widowmaker, who used her gun as a brace to hold him back. The attack was violent and sudden, yet her face was a mask of calmness. After a moment she told him, "Here's a word of advice, _chérie_ , forget about the past. Forget who I was. I have."

"... Was he awake when you slit his throat? If he was, you were the last one he saw. His wife and murderer. How ironic." Reyes chuckled briefly. Widowmaker glared at him fiercely, then backed away and faced the elevator, her face once again a calm mask which showed no emotion. After a moment of tense silence, the elevator opened up to the ground floor and the pair made their way to the blacked out car out front.

* * *

Later

Under the cover of darkness, the car delivered Reyes and Widowmaker to the home of the target. While Widowmaker camped out on the roof of a building nearby, Reaper used his Wraith form to slip through a cracked window and into the house. The house was dark, which meant it was either empty or everyone was asleep. He spied a light on in a hallway off of the foyer and approached cautiously. The door was cracked open and from his place near it Reyes peaked in and saw a woman hunched over a desk. She scribbled things down in a notebook before she got up and moved across the room before she went back to the desk. Reyes assumed she was Moineau and was about to go in when he was interrupted by a child screaming behind him, "Danger étranger!"

Reyes whirled around to find a young boy behind him. He must have come from the stairway adjacent to the hallway Reyes was in. Before he could wonder how he hadn't heard the boy, Reyes felt something circular press against the base of his skull.

"Qui es-tu? Que fais-tu dans ma maison?" Moineau demanded as she held the gun to Reyes's head. His French was rusty, so he wasn't sure what she had asked, but assumed it was something along the lines of "who are you" and "why are you here?" Thinking quickly, Reyes shadow stepped behind the child and aimed one of his shotguns at the back of his head.

"Surrender, or he dies." Reyes threatened. Moineau paled before she scowled at Reyes, a fury ignited in her eyes. She spoke then, calm with a clear edge to her voice, her english heavily accented with French, "You are part of Talon I assume? Here to assassinate me?"

Reyes didn't respond, but instead raised his second shotgun so it was level with Moineau's face. Moineau huffed out a single snicker, then looked to her child, who was frozen in fear, sorrow written on her features.

"If you must kill me, then spare my children. Please."

Reyes didn't know how to respond, so he didn't. He merely pulled the trigger. He was about to pull the trigger of the gun on the child, but he hesitated. Before he could do anything, the child dropped to the ground, limb. A single bullet hole leaked blood from the back of his head. Reyes glanced out the front door's window to see the silhouette of a woman on the roof against the light of the moon. As he came back to reality, Reyes heard someone approaching and quickly vanished. He met Widowmaker at the car and the two got in before it speeded off from the crime scene.

They rode in silence for a few minutes before Widowmaker told him, "Next time, you must not hesitate for any reason. Our mission depends on our performance. Understand, _chérie_?"

"... Understood."


End file.
